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Ancient Alluvial Plains at Oxia Planum, Mars
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  • Joel M. Davis,
  • Matthew R Balme,
  • Peter Fawdon,
  • Peter Martin Grindrod,
  • Elena A Favaro,
  • Steven G Banham,
  • Nicolas Thomas
Joel M. Davis
Birkbeck, University of London

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Matthew R Balme
Open University
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Peter Fawdon
Open University
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Peter Martin Grindrod
Natural History Museum
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Elena A Favaro
Open University
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Steven G Banham
Imperial College London
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Nicolas Thomas
University of Bern
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Abstract

The geologic origin of the ancient, phyllosilicate-bearing bedrock at Oxia Planum, Mars, the ExoMars rover landing site, is unknown. The phyllosilicates record ancient aqueous processes, but the processes that formed the host bedrock remain elusive. Here, we use high-resolution orbital and topographic datasets to investigate and characterize fluvial sinuous ridges (FSRs), found across the Oxia Planum region. The FSRs form segments up to 70 km long, with sub-horizontal layering common in ridge margins. Some FSRs comprise multi-story ridge systems; many are embedded within the phyllosilicate-bearing bedrock. We interpret the FSRs at Oxia Planum as deposits of ancient, episodically active, alluvial river systems (channel-belt and overbank deposits). Thus, the phyllosilicate-bearing bedrock was formed at least partly by ancient alluvial rivers, active across the wider region. Future exploration by the ExoMars rover can verify this interpretation and provides an opportunity to investigate some of the oldest river deposits in the Solar System.